BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – On Thursday, the Greek parliament voted in favor of a new batch of severe austerity reforms to secure the next tranche of foreign lenders’ money.
“That proves that they are ready to take the responsibility in order to stay in the Eurozone. Yes, the Greek part has taken its responsibilities,” Moscovici said, adding that the European Commission will prepare a compliance report with a positive assessment of the Greek reforms, which is necessary for unblocking future bailout payments.
Greece's debt crisis hit the nation's economy in 2010. Since then, a number of international lenders, including EU institutions and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), agreed to provide Athens with several bailout packages in exchange for austerity reforms, which have been bitterly opposed by the country's trade unions.
Now the Greek government needs $8 billion to meet a debt repayment deadline in July.